NAFDAC Rejects Minister’s Position on Plastic Rice

Nigeria’s food safety agency, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has denied claims by the Minister of Health, Mr Isaac Adewole, that it has cleared the reported ‘plastic’ rice.

A senior official at the agency told BBC in Lagos that the Minister’s Twitter statement “is not their position.”

Mr Adewole had tweeted that tests by the agency found “no evidence” of plastic material.

About 2.5 tonnes of the “plastic” rice has been confiscated.

Rice is Nigeria’s staple food and it is a tradition for people to give bags of rice as a gift during the Christmas period.

Lagos customs chief, Haruna Mamudu said on Wednesday the fake rice was intended to be sold during the festive season but has not commented on the health minister’s statement.

The official at NAFDAC told the BBC’s Stephanie Hegarty that the tests were still ongoing:

“We are not done with comprehensive tests. We are still in the laboratory. We haven’t concluded analysis and it is not something we can conclude in two days.”

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